Hush, Little Norse God
by supersmileys
Summary: Poor little Norse god, all out in the cold; You're stuck there alone; with no-one to hold.


Ty loved being an older brother. After being the baby of the family for seven years, Axl was a welcome change of pace.

_Hush little Norse God, don't say a word  
Your screams and your cries will never be heard_

He had always thought that he'd one day be a father. A far, far better father than his dad was. Ty had always longed for a _proper _family. Not one filled with screaming and shouting and crying. Baby Axl's crying was okay, because he was a baby and didn't know any better. But he hated the sound that his mother would make when Dad would hit her. The strangled screeches of anger and pain were sounds that he'd never forget as long as he lived.

_Yet you still try to scream and shout  
And today you're gonna learn what real pain's about_

Growing up, he was always so jealous of the stable relationships that he saw around him. Particularly that of Mike and Valerie's. They suffered the loss of the Rob and grew closer each day. Ty, however, rarely had anything like that. Girls would always see him as a friend, and he would fall in love with them as they turned to him for an emotional crutch, but never anything more. He always loved people more than they loved him. That's when he knew, if he ever were to become a father, that his child would love him back just as much, if not more.

_Poor little Norse God, all out in the cold  
You're stuck there without anyone to hold_

And when he turned 21, things just got worse from there. Not only would girls never see him romantically, but now it was infinitely more difficult to get emotionally OR physically closer to anyone without driving them away. They weren't sure what it was, but they always got uncomfortable goosebumps whenever he was around. Ty seemed to be eternally haunted, with ghosts of his past constantly in his eyes and voice.

And so he grew emotionally cold for the next few years. Moving to Auckland, the large, impersonal city where it was easier to be alone; anonymous amongst the million or so people who lived there.

_What's that, Norse God? You need someone?  
You're Hod; you're far easier to shun_

His brothers all moved to Auckland, too, but he didn't speak to them much after his 21st. They could never understand just how hard it was for him, and he didn't want them to understand. All he wanted was to live his cold dark life and hope that someday, he'd find someone who was warm enough to accept him for who he was.

But he never did.

_Look, little Norse God, who has returned!  
Your future is destined – do you feel concerned?_

  
When Axl turned 21, Ty handed over their family's sword as well as the knowledge that he would soon be stuck with an eternity of darkness. Never had he been so bitter about being a god.

Ty continued to fix fridges, to sculpt ice in his spare time; that was the only time he felt at peace, when he didn't have to continuously try and prevent the room from freezing over.

His favourite sculpture was one he made of himself, a woman, and a child. The woman and child were faceless, but Ty didn't care. He put the emotion and the love and the figurative warmth into carving that ice family into the best ice family that ever existed.

And because he was Hod, the sculpture never melted. Nor did his wishes.

_Norse God – that woman Dawn seems nice  
It sure would be a shame if you turned her to ice_

Ty had never loved anyone as much as he loved Dawn. She was kind, she was sweet, he _knew _ that she was the one for him; the woman in his sculpture. He almost felt warm around her. Ty had certainly never felt happier with anyone before.

Fate didn't agree with his happiness, however. Ty thought that he was the coldest he'd ever be once he turned 21, but that morning when he woke up and saw Dawn on the edge of death his blood ran colder. She was blue, frozen like his ice sculpture that he so cherished. But not like this.

_Poor little Norse God, just let your sweet Dawn shine  
Leave her, dump her! And then you know she'll be fine_

That day when he walked away from Dawn's hospital bed was the first day that he seriously considered ending his life.

_Well, little Norse God, isn't your life just swell!  
Not for long – why don't we send you to Hel?_

His relationship with Eva had a curious effect – he was able to actually perceive the feeling of numbness for the first time. The adrenaline from his addiction to being with such a powerful goddess eliminated all other thoughts and worries from his mind – and replaced them with a cold anger that she so relished.

_Hush little Norse God, there's no need to cry  
Mama's got your wife and she'll make her die_

Their marriage had gotten more tumultuous and Ty could feel the life draining from his body more and more each day – but it didn't matter, because he was numb to the point of complete apathy. Except that moment when his desires burned through for a few hopeful seconds – when Eva told him she wanted a baby. That longing that he had stifled pierced through, but with it came his love for Dawn. And this made him guilty.

When he found Eva in his freezer, on the verge of death – his last chance to ever fulfil his earlier dreams of a proper family – he was horrified. But the sight of the goddess Hel leaving Eva's body was that of an awed horror, accompanied by a heavy sense of longing. Even the woman he had committed to for the rest of his life had left him; and once he again he longed to be free of the burden of his life.

_A poor little Norse God you are no more  
But Dawn doesn't know the man that you were before_

He thought he'd have his escape. The Yggdrasil gave him the opportunity to finally rid the part of his life that had weighed him down for years, and he was no longer Hod. For the first time in his life, there was nothing stopping him from being with the woman that he loved, who loved him back.

"Who are you?"

This time, that sculpted fantasy of he and Dawn and a child of theirs started to melt. She had no idea who he was, and he was back to square one. Unrequited love.

To ease the pain, he returned to sculpting ice. Ty no longer possessed the proper skill or dexterity to create masterpieces as he did before, but he welcomed the bite of the cold as he hacked away at the blocks of ice.

When it was evident that Gaia was most likely going to be Frigg, he had an awful revelation. Not only would he not become a god, but his brothers, his grandfather and everyone he knew and had grown close to would all return to Asgard, leaving him in New Zealand, alone. Again.

_None of your family has any clue  
Of what you begged Natalie to do_

Ty, by chance had met Natalie when they were both out on one of their runs. He learned who she was and guessed that she was there to keep surveillance on Anders and source the rest of the family.

So he took his chance.

He withdrew all the money had had made from the sale of the house gifted to him and Eva from her father, and all the money he had saved from his repair business, to pay Natalie to kill his brothers. Ty managed to channel his older brother Anders as he convinced her that they were evil and needed to be eliminated.

She succeeded in killing Helen, but failed at killing Anders. She had tracked him to the Waitakere ranges, but Colin got her before she could kill anyone else. They had had a plan to meet up and kill the gods and goddesses together.

What Natalie didn't know is that Ty had then planned to kill himself.

_Poor little Tyrone, a snag has occurred  
Your brothers are alive – they'll hear your last words_

Natalie was supposed to wait for Ty, but she didn't. Ty was late, and she didn't want to risk the plan being revealed before they could implement it.

While Natalie was killing Helen and tracking Anders to the location of all the other gods, Ty was writing Dawn a suicide note. In it, he relayed all his hopes and wishes and the truth about him and his brothers and his life.

Even though he knew she would not understand it, due to the fact she no longer knew him, he bequeathed her the ice sculpture he had made of him, the woman and the child. Ty didn't care anymore. Or maybe, he cared too much?

It was time for him to melt into the ether.

_Hush you little Norse Gods, no need to be scared  
Ty's on his way, and he's come prepared_

Ty had been by Anders' house, and saw the body of Helen discarded on the floor. He had to admit that it shocked him, but that quickly wore off when he realised that Anders was nowhere to be seen. Leaping into his van, Ty took off out west, where he had been too many times before in the past couple of years. He secretly hated West Auckland and the godawful hills and trees and the beach beyond the forest.

Blood pumping in his chest and his head, with an automatic weapon loaded in the glove box, he made the final drive out to where he knew the goddess ceremony for Gaia would be taking place.

He shouldn't have taken so long to write that note.

Ty and Natalie had planned to discreetly attack everyone while the ceremony was taking place, so they would all be distracted and be caught off-guard. But by the time Ty arrived, Idunn had arrived into Gaia's body, and utter mayhem had broken out.

Axl and Jerome were shouting furiously at each other; only George, Mike and Olaf were stopping Odin and Maui from tearing each other apart. Leon and the goddesses were talking in hurried tones as to what to do, and Anders was staring gobsmacked at Gaia, having not spoken since she introduced herself to him as Idunn.

Before Ty could walk up to them and point the gun at anyone, Colin caught sight of him.

"Ahh, the proverbial ex-son-in-law! Come and enjoy the festivities – everything has fallen to pieces!" he declared jubilantly. Ty slowly walked up to Colin, the one hand in his pocket with the gun was trembling. It was going to be harder than he thought.

"TY! Oh my goodness, you just missed crazy psycho bible bitch Natalie trying to murder me and the rest of us!" Anders practically tripped over himself at the sight of his younger brother; nothing like a near death experience to make you appreciate your siblings!

The sound of happiness in Anders' voice was the most heart-wrenching sound to Ty's ears – why, why now did he have to care?! That's it, all he ever wanted in life was to feel wanted and needed. That's why he enjoyed looking after Axl so much as a baby; why he kept earnestly searching for the woman to spend the rest of his life with; why he yearned to be a father. He wasn't supposed to be there, and yet Anders was happy to see him, Axl calmed his anger a little, and even Mike looked relieved at the sight of his brother. It was as though Ty had a cooling effect on everyone, even after Hod had abandoned him.

_DO IT NOW TYRONE, DON'T BACK DOWN NOW  
HURRY UP, TY, YOU MADE A VOW_

Words and feelings were tumbling around Ty's head, giving him a headache. He couldn't think straight; he clenched his gun tighter.

"Ty…I hope to God that you are just happy to see us and that's not what I think it is in your pocket," Anders said suddenly in a very cautious tone. Anders was closest to Ty; everyone else had lost interest in Ty since he had arrived and had drawn their attention back to Gaia and her new goddess powers. Gaia herself had her eyes glued to Anders, but she watched from afar as Ingrid fretted over her, and Jerome begged for her forgiveness.

Anders tone of concern piqued Colin's interest, and he wandered back over.

"Oh, are we having phallic insecurities? Excellent!" Ty's eyes were as fixed on Anders as his hand on the gun.

"Fuck off, Colin, can you mind your own business for once?" Anders didn't for a second take an eye off his brother. Colin looked between the two brothers who were locked in eye contact and let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, I'm _sorry! _I'll give you two a little privacy so as to sort out your lover's spat. Maybe I'll flirt with your soon to be betrothed, Johnson."

"Be my guest," Anders growled, and Colin finally took the hint and stepped away, over to the river.

_ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD AND YOU'LL FALL TO THE GROUND  
THEIR LIVES ARE BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU AROUND_

"Ty. I don't care what freaky drugs you're on, or whether Natalie brainwashed you, but I think it would be a very good idea if you slowly pulled whatever it is in your pocket and put it on the ground," Anders said in a gentle voice, and Ty found himself wanting to oblige with Anders' request; Anders was very persuasive.

Ty reached in his pocket, ready to slowly pull the gun out and surrender it to his brother.

_DON'T LISTEN TO HIM TY, IT IS ALL A TRICK  
HE'S USING HIS POWERS – YOU CAN END IT QUICK!_

Ty suddenly stopped. Apart from Anders using his Bragi powers, Ty realised he had no discernible reason to hand his gun over.

"I can't do that, Anders," he answered shakily, and Anders looked alarmed. This was one of the few times that his god powers had failed to work on a mortal. And it was probably the time that he needed them to work the most.

"But it is a gun, isn't it?" Anders asked softly. He didn't want to catch the attention of everyone else and make a big spectacle of his clearly unstable younger brother. Ty pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at it sadly. Anders took a tentative step towards Ty.

"Look, why don't we talk about this by my car. And if you really are here to kill us all, you can start with me discreetly so you can kill everyone else without them panicking." Anders could not believe what he was saying to his brother, but it seemed to be working. Ty exhaled precariously and nodded. Anders nodded back, and walked slowly up to his brother and they slowly stepped away from the clearing to where everyone had parked their cars.

"Anders!" Gaia called over to him, noticing him and Ty walking away.  
"Give us a minute!" Anders barked, and it scared him how much his own voice was on the verge of cracking. Truth be told, it was scaring the shit out of him to have no idea what his brother was thinking. Whatever it was, the anguish that Ty was trying to hide was evident on his face. __

THE GUN'S RIGHT THERE, TY, YOU CAN MAKE IT STOP  
ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD; JUST LET YOUR BODY DROP

"Is this about Dawn?" Anders' question threw Ty off; he wasn't expecting Anders to dig for an emotional answer. Ty spluttered over an answer, and Anders took his chance.

"I told her you're the most caring person I know, Ty. She might still give you another chance. She loved you once, she'll love you again!"

"I wrote her a note, Anders," Ty croaked. Anders looked more terrified than ever as he realised that Ty's main objective now was to kill himself, not everyone else.  
"Shit, Ty, you're on a suicide mission?! Look, I know you've been depressed in the past, but there are so many people here who care for you, who _need _you!" Anders pleaded.

"You've never needed me," Ty whispered angrily. He pulled the gun and put it to his head. Blood was pounding in his ears so much he almost couldn't hear the rough, wavering breaths from both him and his older brother.

_THAT'S GOOD TY, PULL THE TRIGGER TIGHT  
YOU'RE SO CLOSE NOW – THE END IS IN SIGHT_

The shot echoed through the forest, and everyone at the river froze.  
"Is that another god hunter?" asked Jerome worriedly.  
"Where's Anders and Ty?" Axl asked, sounding even more worried.  
"_SHIT." _Mike started running, faster than he ever ran before back to where he nearly lost his life earlier that afternoon. He reached the cars and couldn't spot anyone, until he heard a small 'thunk' from the back of Anders' car.

Anders had grabbed Ty's falling body and collapsed with the weight against his car. Stricken, silent sobs wracked Anders body as he clutched his dead brother, for once not caring that his clothes were being ruined by the blood soaking through his jersey.

"TY!" Mike screamed, and the scream attracted everyone's attention and they all bolted over to the cars, lead by Axl and Olaf. Axl, too, collapsed at the sight of his dead brother in Axl's arms. Colin, the goddesses and the three Maori gods watched in horror the three living brothers, all inconsolable and leaning on each other while they mourned, needing each others' support, but most of all _needing _Ty to not be dead.

_Hush little Johnsons, don't you cry  
Your brother's gone; time to say goodbye._


End file.
